The 6" Block
I've really been struggling as I make the 6" blocks. Some are for swaps and some are for the BOM in black & white that I am making in the quilt-along Carol & I joined.
With each one I make, I learn things about color placement or fabric choices. This is the first of my B&W 6" blocks. I learned to select less busy prints. Everything got lost in this one and while I will keep it, I will chose differently. The pattern only includes construction steps and does not give suggestions for color values or placement.
I work hard for accuracy in cutting and piecing, yet for whatever reason, operator error or mechanical error, sometimes a block doesn't measure up. Do I say its a mistake? Mistakes are human and everyone makes them. I am my worst critic. Mistakes cost us acceptance and approval, especially in a swap. I hate it when something I do doesn't turn out the way I planned even with my best efforts.
Looking good isn't the same as being good or feeling good. Poor judgement teaches us to set better boundaries for ourselves in whatever we do the next time we act whether its in quilting, or in our relationships.
These are "pretty in pink" Ohio Stars for the May 6" swap as requested. I made several that are in my wonky box dedicated for a future wonky-style quilt. Tiny pieces were put together the same way a 12" block would go yet, resisted my fingers and tested my skills at accuracy.
My swap partner is sending these that she made for my request to do the blocks wonky. She told me working with this style was out of her comfort zone and I suggested using wild fabrics. They are wonderful! And they are not mistakes. In one way, my mistakes would be orphan blocks, and then saved to be used. In this way, recognizing them as a mistake, and still dedicating them as wonky-style useful gives them a recognition for the work I put into them.
Probably no experience teaches us more than when we make mistakes or bad choices. We are, after all, only human. And when we accept our mistakes or find a way through our struggles in life, we are better able to accept ourselves.
